2012 Porsche Panamera S Hybrid

DIGITAL EDITOR ANDREW STOY: I've got to hand it to Porsche: The Panamera doesn't do a lot for me on the outside, but the inside is one of my favorite places to spend driving time; the cabin is impeccably trimmed, and every surface exudes premium luxury. It's an outstanding executive transport or kid carrier, as was the case during my night with the Panamera. Thanks to the individual bucket rear seats, the belt buckles were very easy to reach with child booster seats in place.

I said months ago how much I liked Porsche's hybrid system in the Cayenne, and it's even better bolted to the Panamera S. Yes, the brake regen is aggressive, but once you grow accustomed to the bite, everything else about the system simply works well. Power and torque isn't at Turbo S levels, but I never found myself wanting for more. The “coast mode” that disengages engine and motor power when the driver's foot is off the throttle is brilliant and nearly seamless; what struck me is how often one coasts while driving in normal conditions, evidenced by seeing the tach needle periodically drop to zero while cruising along at 75 mph.

During a tangential discussion, Davey G. Johnson and I were chatting about the high-end car depreciation curve, and the potential for picking up a Panamera for half-price in, say, five years. And what are the futures of extraordinarily complex machines like this absent the cult following of the 911? Will the Panamera become the next 928, a decade hence rousing the interest of entry-level exotic car fans with low purchase prices only to be abandoned to the kidney fund when a water pump fails? Or, God forbid, a hybrid dual-clutch transmission?

Time will tell. But for now, if your subdivision, station in life or parking space at work dictates you drive something with a hybrid badge, I'm happy to report it doesn't have to cost you true driving fun—but it will cost you $110K.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR BOB GRITZINGER: The regenerative braking action is touchy. That's it. That's the only complaint I have about this 2012 Porsche Panamera S Hybrid. No, I don't mind the appearance—in this white wrapper I think it's actually quite handsome. It does take getting past the idea that every Porsche is a stubby little sports car. But that notion ended with the Cayenne, the ute that saved the company so we can all continue to enjoy its stubby little sports cars. Or think of it this way: If you have to have a few more seats in your Porsche, you could be riding far higher in the air than you are in this Panamera.

The car offers stunning performance, acceleration, handling, planted ride, pitch perfect interior—along with the greenie vibe that comes with the hybrid badges and the electric motor helping out under the hood. Having spent quite a bit of time behind the wheel of the Cayenne Hybrid in all kinds of driving conditions, I was surprised at how readily and often this model clicked into EV “sail” mode—much more than the Cayenne. I was coasting along at freeway speed, looked down and saw the tach resting at zero. It can be a little unsettling at first, as though the car has stalled at speed. But all is well, and everything jumps back to life with the slightest nudge of the gas pedal.

Also lost on me up to now is the sheer size of the Panamera. Thankfully, there are all manner of cameras and alerts to help you when backing up, because visibility is low and the car is quite long. But given the Porsche DNA, it doesn't drive anywhere near as big as it is—it isn't exactly a 911 coupe, but it sure doesn't feel like it's twice as big, either.

If this is the green state of the art for sports cars, I'm good with it. Just clear up those grabby brakes, or toss in one of those wicked flywheel power collectors just for fun.

ASSOCIATE EDITOR JAKE LINGEMAN: In 24 hours with the Panamera S Hybrid, I've deduced all that is right—and wrong—with the humpback sedan that wears the same nameplate as the best sports car on the market.

For starters, it's decidedly Porsche. The view from the cockpit, the feel of the steering wheel, even the smell of the beautiful, deep Marsala red leather interior seems to scream Zuffenhausen. The sport seats adjust in all directions, and after about 200 miles in the car, I can report they are good for the long haul.

The center console is covered in buttons; without counting I'd say at least 50 near the shifter and on the dash. Some are redundant, and some are only used by the passenger, but if you like minimalism in your design, the Panamera can't help you. On the contrary, if you like a button for every feature and a feature for every button, the Panamera can assist.

The only drawback of the interior is the big blind spot when backing up. The Panamera does have sensors, but at this price point, I got out of the car to double check. On the bright side, when maneuvering at slow speeds, the electronic power steering ratchets up the assist so you aren't spending a ton of effort getting this beast out of a spot.

The gauge cluster has five concentric circles, one of which is customizable to radio, navigation, tire pressure and other information, and all of it is controlled by dials on the steering wheel. Drivers can switch songs and audio source, zoom in and out on a map and keep track of the car's vital systems.

The wheel also features paddle shifters to control the eight-speed Tiptronic S transmission. It's not nearly as fast as Porsche's PDK, but it's semi-responsive. What I don't like is how both buttons shift up and down. I see the logic, when, the wheel is cranked you might hit the wrong paddle if they only do one each, but after years of right side up, left side down, it will take some getting used to.

On the road, the Panamera is like a rocket ship and feels rock solid. It's heavy enough to give some confidence around turns, but turn the traction control off and it'll still wag the tail. Power is sufficient at 380 hp with electric and gas kicking in, and torque is plentiful at 428 lb-ft. Like the best luxo sedans, it plants you firmly in the seat when you put your foot to the floor.

The hybrid system is the most intelligent I've ever driven. It shuts off at all the right times and kicks back in as soon as you think you might need power. Like the guys above said, it'll drop off at 80 mph on the expressway and kick back on when you dip an inch or so into the throttle. It also jumps over to electric mode when cruising under 50 mph or so. I was on a 45-mph street and coasted, engineless for about 10 minutes. I recorded about 21 mpg in my stint, which isn't spectacular in the grand scheme, but for a 380-hp sedan, not bad at all. Obviously, the hyper mile driving was kept to a minimum. Like all regenerative brakes, they are a bit grabby.

Overall, the Panamera S Hybrid is an amazing piece of machinery with true hybrid credentials. Once the sticker shock of $100K has worn off, I think buyers will be quite pleased.

ROAD TEST EDITOR JONATHAN WONG: Yes, the Panamera S Hybrid is impressive. It's a hybrid I wouldn't mind living with on a daily basis. As many mentioned, the brake pedal is a little touchy but still offers a fair amount of modulation ability, and it's not an on/off switch like on many hybrid vehicles.

What is the most interesting thing to me about this Panamera S Hybrid is the fact that it's a really good driver. Without a doubt you can call it sporty. There's plenty of acceleration on tap from the supercharged V6 and electric motor combination and the eight-speed automatic transmission quickly and smoothly performs shift functions. Need to speed up? Lay onto the throttle a bit and the gearbox will jump down a gear or two in an instant to get moving.

It handles itself well around corners, too, even with the extra weight all those hybrid components bring to the party. A Panamera S weighs 3,968 pounds, while this hybrid is 4,365 pounds for a difference of 397 pounds. Steering feels responsive and the body stays nicely controlled when you have the adjustable dampers are stiffened up. But the Panamera S Hybrid can also be extremely comfortable when needed for regular driving.

Aside from the brake pedal (which again isn't all that bad for a hybrid), this hybrid system is probably the best one I've encountered. It will slip into full EV mode at highway speeds often and if it wasn't for the EV light on the dash, you would have no idea it was coasting along on battery power.

Call the Panamera S Hybrid one of the few hybrid vehicles that I truly can say is fun to drive. Lexus tried to sell people on the notion that the CT 200h was fun, but that's way under-powered and is stuck with a continuously variable transmission, which is just painful to even think about.

And it's nice to say that the hybrid version of the Panamera doesn't come at too much of a price premium. A Panamera S starts at $92,325, while the hybrid begins at $95,975. You get 20 less horsepower than the Panamera S, but there's a bit more torque in the hybrid with 428 lb-ft compared to the 369 lb-ft. And there's a respectable jump in fuel economy with the hybrid that's rated by the EPA at 22 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway, while the normal gas model gets 16 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway cycle.

As for my observed fuel economy number, I got 22.7 mpg on mostly city driving, which is darn good in my book for a car that is this big and drives this well.

EDITOR WES RAYNAL: You can actually watch joy at seeing a Panamera turn to disappointment on people's faces as soon as they see the hybrid badges. It's palpable. Maybe peeps can't get their heads around a Panamera hybrid. Heck, I'm still getting used to it. Maybe the word “hybrid” just bums people out.

But there's no arguing that this car is a fine driver. I agree this is one of the smoothest hybrid systems out there. I felt absolutely no hybrid lag, stumble or cough like one does in, say, a Toyota Prius. The transition from electric to gas to in between and back—and whatever else is going on under there—was smooth, smooth, smooth.

Just think about what's happening with this powertrain: You decelerate and the unused engine power charges the battery; the clutch disengages the engine when coasting; hitting the brakes charges the battery; it has auto stop; you can move away from the light under electric power, etc. It's all seamless and pretty amazing.

There's also good power from the Audi supercharged six-cylinder. The car feels quick, and the transmission couldn't be smoother. Also, I'm impressed with the suspension, which seems to control body motions beautifully.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR ROGER HART: No matter what speed you are traveling or where you are going, you can never get away from the sensation that you are piloting something extremely complex. Even sitting at idle, or no idle as the engine shuts off, there's some humming going on and you can hear valves opening and closing.

As everyone has noted, the major downside here is the terrible feel from the regen brakes. Even the greatest sports car company in the world can't get away from the same problem that plagues all hybrids. I also noticed some clunky driveline lash in some gear changes, especially on downshifts. Felt very odd.

But overall, this is by far the best hybrid I've driven, mainly because it is a Porsche. Besides the brakes, this thing drives like you'd expect a big Porsche to drive.

I won't get all philosophical on whether this is something Porsche should be doing or should have done; that cat is out of the bag. They've done it, and they will do more of it. I can only hope that someone, somewhere, will figure out how to make regen brakes feel like normal brakes. Then we'd all have little to complain about.

Andrew Stoy
- Digital editor Andrew Stoy is an avid enthusiast of all cars who has spent the past 15 years writing about the automobile in print, online and for advertising and PR firms.
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